Grass-catcher.



J. A. BBERLE.

GRA$S GATGHBR. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 29, 1910.

995 231. PatentedJune 13,1911.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN AVEBERLE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO THE PERFECTION MANUFAC- TURING COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION.

GRASS-CATCHER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. EBERLE, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grass- Catchers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in grass catchers, and has for its object to provide a simple device of this character that may be folded into a compact and substantially fiat condition for shipping and storing purposes.

Figure I is a side elevation of my grass catcher as applied to a lawn mower, partly shown in dot-ted outline. Fig. II is a perspective view of my grass catcher with the fabric at the rear end partly broken away. Fig. III is an enlarged detail section taken on line IIIIII, Fig. II. Fig. IV is an enlarged detail view, partly in section, taken on line IVIV, Fig. II.'

In the accompanying drawings: 1 designates the metal bottom of my grass catcher and 2 a bottom frame having side'rods and a rear rod to which the metal bottom is secured by rolling the side and rear edges of r the bottom about the frame rods.

. at its front edge serve as stiffeners or reinforcing members for the front end of the metal bottom, this being the portion of the metal bottom it is particularly important to strengthen, in view of the-great liability of injury thereto. The front frame rods are provided with upturned arms 9 and 10 at their outer ends terminating in eyes 9 and 10' to which a top frame to be hereinafter more particularly referred to is connected. The front frame rods 8 and 4 are hinged to the side rods of the bottom frame 2 by passing them through eyes at the forwardends of said side rods, which are arranged on the horizontal portions of the front frame rods at the junctions of said horizontal portions and the upturned arms 9 and 10. To provide for the retention of the eyes at the forward ends of the side rods in the bottom Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 29, 1910.

Patented J une 13, 1911.

Serial No. 579,435.

frame 2 adjacent to the upturned arms of the front frame rods, I produce kinks 3 and 4 in the horizontal portions of the front frame rods by virtue of which said eyes are retained in their proper positions.

11 designates a top frame comprising a rear rod and side rods, the latter of which are provided at their forward ends with eyes interlooped with the eyes 9 and 10 of the upturned arms of the front frame rods 3 and 4.

12 is a fabric body having its upper edge secured to the top frame 11 in any suitable or usual manner and the front ends of the sides of which are secured to the upturned arms of the front frame rods 3 and 4:. This fabric body is permanently and efliciently secured to the bottom of the grass catcher by wrapping it'around the bottom frame 1 before the metal bottom is rolled around said frame, whereby the fabric is bound between said frame and the rolled edges of the metal bottom, as seen in Fig. III.

13 designates a bail by which the grass catcher may be carried, the bail being provided at its ends with eyes that are interlooped with the eyes 9 and 10 of the frame arms 9 and 10.

14 is a hanger hook secured to an eye on the rear rod of the top frame 11 and to which the bailmay be fitted, as seenin Figs. I and II, when the grass catcher is in service on the lawn mower and the rear portion of the catcher is supported by such hanger hook.

A highly important feature of my present improvement is the production of a construction that will permit of the grass catcher being attached to lawn mowers of various widths and of the attaching devices being accurately fitted to the catcher irrespective of great or slight variations between the widths of lawn mowers of ditferent manufacture. Also, in this connection, I provide for the strain imposed upon the grass catcher, by the attaching means referred to, being imposed upon the front frame rods 3 and 4 instead of upon the metal bottom of the grass catcher, which is extremely liable to become torn if subjected to the strain of the attaching devices. I

provide the metal bottom of my grass imity to the front frame rod at such side of the catcher, and at the opposite side of the metal bottom I produce a notch 5 by cutting away the front corner of the metal bottom, as seen in Fig. II. The notch just referred to provides for the exposure of a portion of the horizontal member of the front frame at the corner of the metal bottom last referred to.

In consequence of the formation of the notch 5, there is furnished in the metal bottom near one of its sides and its front edge a slot that is in alinement with the perforations 6 near the opposite side of the metal bottom of the catcher and attaching devices for connecting the grass catcher to a lawn mower are readily inserted into said perforations and said slot. The attaching devices utilized are hooks 7, one of which is shown in Fig. I, and it will be readily appreciated that a hook at one side of the lawn mower which enters into one of the perforations (3 will serve in addition to its function of attaching the catcher to the lawn mower, the function of preventing lateral movement of the catcher. The hook at the opposite side of the lawn mower which enters into the slot provided by the notch 5 may position itself at any point throughout the length of said notch and, as a consequence, the catcher may be fitted to the lawn mower irrespective of the width of the lawn mower, provided that such width is not greater than the width of the catcher.

I claim:

1. A grass catcher, comprising a body and a metal bottom, the metal bottom being provided at its front end near one side with a transversely arranged row of perforations and at its front end near the opposite side with a transverse slot, said perforations and slot being designed to receive separate attaching devices for the connection of the catcher to a lawn mower.

2. A grass catcher, comprising a body and a metal bottom, the metal bottom being provided at its front end near one side with a. transversely arranged row of perforations and at its front end near the opposite side with a transverse slot, said perforations and slot being adapted to receive separate attaching devices for the connection of the catcher to a lawn mower, and alined from frame rods closely bound within the front end of said metal bottom to receive the strain of the attachingdevices entering into said perforations and slot.

3. A grass catcher, comprising a body, a metal bottom attached to said body, a top frame to which said body is attached, a bottom frame fitted to said metal bottom having side rods terminating attheir front ends in eyes, and alined front frame rods having horizontal portions arranged in said metal bottom and upright portions connected to said top frame, the horizontal portions of the front frame rods being disposed in the eyes of the side rods and provided with kinks for holding said side rods by their eyes in proximity to the uprights of the front frame rods.

JOHN A. EBERLE.

In the presence"of M. C. HAMMON, E. B. LINN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. i 

